Friday, April 1, 2011

ISO 26000 states in its scope:
“This International Standard is not a management system standard. It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes or regulatory or contractual use. Any offer to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard.”

From here the following kinds of potential or factual misuse can be deducted.

Kind Examples, non-exhaustive Related text of scope Recommended action
A
Misleading representation ISO 26000 is listed among certifiable management system standards like ISO 9001 or ISO 14001, e.g. on websites or in any other documentation.
This International Standard is not a management system standard Make the originator aware of scope and purpose and that ISO 26000 is a guidance standard and not a management system standard.
A
ISO 26000 is described as being “designed to become a regulatory instrument…” It is not intended or appropriate for regulatory use. Make the originator aware that ISO 26000 is a guidance standard and can’t be a regulatory instrument like an international treaty or convention.
Regulatory instruments are issued by governments or intergovernmental organizations, not by ISO or other standards bodies.

A
ISO 26000 is shown on a website or any other media next to or under “certification”, or in relation to certification or awards like Baldrige, so that the neophyte gets the impression that ISO 26000 is a certifiable standard.
It is not intended or appropriate for certification purposes. Make the originator aware of the ISO 26000 scope and purpose of the guidance standard, and urge for a change of that misrepresentation so that the ISO 26000 does not appear in conjunction with any kind of claim or offer for certification.
B
Use in contracts ISO 26000 is mentioned, either separately or in conjunction with other standards, among contract conditions to be met; regardless of whether the contracts are business-to-business or government-to-business.
It is not intended or appropriate for contractual use. Make the contract partner aware of the ISO 26000 scope and purpose and that it is a guidance standard, does not contain requirements, and is not for contractual use.
C
Use in public procurement ISO 26000 is mentioned in procurement conditions so that possible suppliers get the impression that they would have to meet requirements contained in ISO 26000.
It is not intended or appropriate for contractual use. Make the procuring agency/authority aware of the scope and purpose and that ISO 26000 is a guidance standard, which does not contain requirements, and that it is not for use in procurement.
D
Use in legislation and/or regulation
ISO 26000 would be made law or regulation, or would be referenced in a law or regulation as an instrument to comply with.
It is not intended or appropriate for regulatory use. Make the authority in question aware that this would be a misapplication and an inappropriate use of the guidance standard because it does not contain requirements that could be enforced.
E
Use for certification A company or any other organization requests an ISO 26000 certificate from its existing or potential supplier. Any offer to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard. Create awareness that ISO 26000 as a guidance standard does not contain certifiable requirements so that there is no “ISO 26000 certificate”.
Resist such a request.
Advise the organization in question how to demonstrate the use of ISO 26000.

E
A company or any other organization desires an ISO 26000 certificate. Any offer to certify, or claims to be certified, to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard.
Create awareness that ISO 26000 does not contain certifiable requirements so that there is no “ISO 26000 certificate”.
Advise the organization in question how to use the ISO 26000 and how to demonstrate its use.
E
A company or any other organization claims to be ISO 26000 certified. Any claims to be certified to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard. Advise the organization on the character of ISO 26000 being a guidance standard and that an “ISO 26000 certificate” is not possible but would rather demonstrate that the organization has not understood the ISO 26000 correctly.

E
A certification body offers an ISO 26000 audit or an ISO 26000 certificate Any offer to certify to ISO 26000 would be a misrepresentation of the intent and purpose of the International Standard. Advise the certification body on the character of ISO 26000 being a guidance standard, that it does not contain requirements, that an “ISO 26000 certificate” is therefore not possible, and that such offers would demonstrate that the certification body has a false understanding of ISO 26000.
Convey that message to your partners.

F
Use as reference in certifiable social responsibility standards Advertising/offering a certifiable standard stating it to be “based on ISO 26000” or some other variation of that theme There is no explicit text in the scope but a main feature of ISO 26000 is to be non-certifiable; not, because this is the character of ISO 26000 but because social responsibility is a dynamic process with continuously changing needs and demands.

A certificate reflects only the view at a special point of time.

It would be disastrous for the enhancement of “social responsibility” to imply the achievement of “social responsibility” having gotten a certificate. There are other certifiable standards that address parts of the issues contained in ISO 26000, which came into existence before ISO 26000.

The creation of new certifiable standards in the area of social responsibility is an issue separate from the ISO 26000 process.

Such new certifiable standards will regularly be published to gain more revenues from certification. They are different from ISO 26000 as regards spirit, purpose and intent.

If such new certifiable standards adorn themselves with attributes like “based on ISO 26000,” this is supposed to seek an additional qualification by misusing the ISO name and logo and the ISO 26000 reputation.

Recommended actions:
- Create awareness of the purpose of such new certifiable standards;
- oppose their development; and
- avoid using them
- include this message into contacts with your partners.